The present invention relates to a method of incorporating an encapsulated additive, particularly a lecithin material, into a food product. In particular, it relates to a method of incorporating an encapsulated lecithin material into a chewing gum product.
Chewing gum is a widely enjoyed confection product. However, chewing gum has the undesirable quality of sticking to substrates like sidewalks after its use. Therefore, attempts have been made to formulate chewing gum compositions that break down after being used by a consumer. One approach has been to add a relatively large amount (around 5%) de-oiled lecithin to the chewing gum. Chewing gum with de-oiled lecithin results in gum cud that disintegrates and is less adhesive to a concrete substrate. However, it has been found that such high levels of lecithin also cause the chewing gum product itself to eventually dissolve, even during storage and before chewing by a consumer. Thus, it would be desirable to create a chewing gum product that is removable from a substrate and also has a reasonable shelf life.